X-Ray Art Brings History to Life

By

Rebecca Horne

Oct 6, 2011 3:50 pm ET

Jerry Podany, antiquities curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum, says the X-rays are powerful diagnostic tools that can reveal technologies, dates, past repairs and hidden treasures. Mr. Podany provided a key to the mysterious images in David Maisel’s new book “History’s Shadow,” by describing some of the forensic details exposed by the X-rays. The Getty is one of the institutions that allowed Mr. Maisel to work with its X-rays, along with the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco…